Joe Ashton

Joe Ashton News

General Motors Co. said compensation costs for victims of a faulty ignition switch will be estimated soon and indicated that no further firings are likely related to delays in recalling the defective parts.

General Motors Co. shareholders are being asked today to vote to approve new directors and incentive plans for senior executives. Protesters outside, though, are seeking to keep investors focused on the people killed in small cars equipped with a flawed ignition switch.

United Auto Workers Vice President Joe Ashton , who negotiates with General Motors Co. , said he wants to raise the $14-an-hour entry-level wage for union members at assembly plants in talks this year.

General Motors Co. will move to entice electricians and its other highest-paid U.S. hourly workers to retire so it can hire lower-wage replacements through a four-year labor agreement with the United Auto Workers.

The United Auto Workers will seek early contract settlements in talks with the U.S. automakers this year, breaking a pattern of brinksmanship that stretches at least four decades, two people familiar with the plan said.

General Motors Co. will increase entry-level pay by $2 to $3 an hour as part of a tentative agreement on a new four-year contract with the United Auto Workers, said two people familiar with the accord.